LED/Fluorescent Tipping Point Has Arrived

Energy-efficient lighting industry professionals expect commercial and industrial LED installations to eclipse those using fluorescents for the first time in 2014.

That's one of the results of a state of the lighting industry survey distributed to 5,000 professionals by Precision-Paragon (P-2), a maker of commercial and industrial energy-efficient lighting, now part of Hubbell Lighting.

Figure 1

Participants were asked, "What is the predominant light source you expect to install in your relighting

projects in the coming years?"

(Source: P-2)

Last year, 26% of the survey participants said they would use LEDs in their relighting projects. In fact, retrospectively, LEDs made up 37% of the fixtures installed in 2013. This year, for the first time, more respondents are looking forward to LED installs than fluorescent ones, by a margin of 49% to 46% (see Figure 1).

The industry professionals were upbeat, with 82% saying they expect modest or substantial growth in their businesses in 2014 (see Figure 2). The majority of businesses have experienced growth in each of the four years in which the survey has been conducted.

Perspective

It is easy to see why P-2 wants to collect the kind of data its survey produces.

Figure 2

Participants were asked, "What do you expect from the overall market for energy-efficient relighting projects in 2014, compared to 2013?"

(Source: P-2)

The company has been in business since 1992, and today it operates nationwide and sells a range of lighting products: LED, fluorescent, induction, and HID. It favors fluorescent as "frequently the best commercial and industrial lighting solution," but it says it will always work with customers to find the right solution for each situation. The survey data can act as a rough guide to the balance of its own future business.

P-2 says it's in the business of energy-efficient lighting. Its customers -- building contractors, facilities managers, and lighting specifiers -- would probably also describe their own roles with respect to lighting in similar terms. Who isn't concerned about energy efficiency these days? So, despite the apparent narrowing of the sample, the survey may in fact be pretty representative of those who undertake commercial lighting retrofits.

It seems that the industry believes LEDs have caught up to fluorescents in these applications.

— Keith Dawson , Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting